When talking about the LSAT, and particularly when examining test results, I like to analogize the LSAT to a casino. Yes, there is the chance that you can go into the test and lose your shirt score-wise. However, what I'm really referring to is the somewhat random nature of the questions you encounter on the LSAT and how that can dramatically affect test takers. The Test is a Gamble The LSAT is a standardized test. While that means certain elements are consistently tested, norming protocols are used, and the test is administered in a similar way each time, the exact content of the LSAT … [Read more...]
Quantity Terminology: Some, Few, Several, and Many
Last weekend I got into a conversation with a friend about the exact meaning of few. Yes, sadly, this is how I spend my time. Like many people, she has a very definite idea of what few means: three or more. However, from an LSAT perspective, is that definitely correct? Actually, no.While many would agree that few means three or more, the dictionary definition is, "not many but more than one". So, a few cannot be one, but it can be as low as two. This surprises many people but highlights some of the dangers of taking the LSAT without preparing beforehand. You can easily end up … [Read more...]
Killer RC: The Hardest LSAT Reading Comprehension Passages of All Time
Students studying Reading Comprehension passages often want to see the hardest passages in LSAT history. To that end, here is a list of the hardest Reading Comprehension passages of all time, in chronological order. It is accompanied by our at-times jesting commentary. Although we can no longer offer direct downloads of the games due to LSAC rules, this publication identifier link will tell you where to find them. PT2, October 1991, Passage #3: Waterbugs This was the first “hard science” passage ever to appear on the LSAT. The passage discusses adaptive responses in organisms and features an … [Read more...]
Killer LG: The Hardest LSAT Logic Games of All Time
Why Review the Hardest Games? The Logic Games section is inevitable. For many, it’s the toughest section of the test. If Logic Games are generally difficult, why then would we choose to write about the hardest games ever to appear? The short answer is that there are tremendous benefits to be gained by reviewing these games. If you understand how to recognize them and deal with them, you’ll perform better in this section. In our In Person, Live Online, and Advanced Logic Games courses, we devote lesson segments to discussing killer games. In the Advanced Course in particular, we dedicate a … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part III
Below is Part III of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains the final 5 of the 15 questions that were presented in chronological order. In Part I and Part II we went over the first 10 in our list of the most difficult LR questions of all time in chronological order. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part II
Below is Part II of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 more of the 15 questions we’re listing out in chronological order. In Part I, we discussed questions 1-5 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, and our own experience teaching and writing … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part I
Below is Part I of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 of the 15 questions, which will be presented in chronological order. In Part II we discuss questions 6-10 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, and our own experience teaching and writing … [Read more...]
Overall Section Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
So far in this mini series, we have covered Question-by-Question Difficulty and Individual Question Difficulty. These have largely covered the individual questions within a section on Logical Reasoning on the LSAT. In this post, I am focusing my efforts to discuss overall difficulty in the LR section. Following that, I'll address how that figures into the creation of an LSAT. Overall Difficulty by the Numbers For this, we are using the statistics cited in my previous posts. From there, we have a composite of the overall average difficulty of each section from the four tests under … [Read more...]
Individual Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In my last post, I discussed question-by-question difficulty in LSAT Logical Reasoning sections. Continuing in that same vein, let’s look inside the statistics a bit further. When you examine the difficulty rating for individual questions and sections, you can make several useful inferences. The First Question The first question is always easy or relatively easy (seven of the eight sections under discussion began with a level 1 (easy) question; the other section began with a level 2 (relatively easy) question. In other words, the first question will not be hard. The same is true for the … [Read more...]
Question-by-Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In Logical Reasoning on the LSAT, there is a question many students ask. How does the difficulty of the questions change as the section progresses? In our courses and books, we delve into this point in some detail. Here, I’m going to give a brief overview of how difficulty changes throughout the section. Where Our Data Comes From Before addressing the questions, a note about the statistics we use. You might ask how we derive our information and how accurate that information is. First, years of experience working with LSAT problems and LSAT students give us insight into each section on the … [Read more...]
Yale Law School to Accept GRE Scores
NOTE: This was originally an April Fools post (and the nature of the text below will most certainly bear that out—read those dean's names!) but on July 24th, 2019 Yale Law School did indeed announce they would begin accepting GRE scores for admission. Life imitates comedy!After Harvard's decision to accept GRE scores in lieu of LSAT scores, Yale Law School announced this morning that they would be implementing the use of GRE scores in the law school admission process effective immediately. Yale spokesperson N. Feriority had this to say: When we saw Harvard's decision to accept GRE scores, … [Read more...]
2020 US News Law School Rankings Released!
The 2020 US News Law School Rankings are out! We’ll break down some of the big news from the new rankings in a moment. But first, here’s our standard disclaimer about rankings. Please keep in mind that these rankings are just numbers put through an arbitrary formula that was created by a magazine that makes millions of dollars off of them, so use them at your own risk! The list below is numbered according to the new rankings, and the order for 2020 is listed on the far left. There is a column showing the position change (if any) from the 2019 rankings. Lastly, the columns to the right … [Read more...]
Conditional Reasoning 101: Circular Reasoning and the Contrapositive
Students often ask great questions on our LSAT Forum.One that specifically sticks out regards the existence of circular reasoning in a question that appeared to use the contrapositive. From appearances, the question did use the contrapositive but the reasoning was still flawed, precisely because of the way it was used. Because so many become used to the contrapositive and eventually take it for granted, questions that trade on the point raised in the question can be very difficult to solve. Let's look at this in more detail. Contrapositive vs. the Logical Flaw The question is from the … [Read more...]
Why Does It Take So Long for LSAT Scores to Come Out?
Once the LSAT is over, one of the most common complaints is that scores should come out more quickly. Given that we live in an era where tests are electronically scored and the results are transmitted nearly instantly by email, it sounds like a reasonable complaint. So, why does it take so long for LSAT scores to appear? Couldn't they get them out a lot earlier? To best understand what happens once you turn in your LSAT scoresheet, let's take a look at each phase of the process. Test Administration and Collection The first delay actually comes before most students take the LSAT. Typically, … [Read more...]